IT will be a happy new year for two Wyre Forest community groups who will recieve vital boosts thanks to The Shuttle.

Kidderminster Foodbank has been awarded £1,053 by the Gannett Foundation to purchase office items and First Kidderminster Boys’ Brigade will benefit from £3,695 to help purchase camping equipment.

Gannett is the American owner of the Newsquest Media Group, which publishes The Shuttle. The foundation gives hundreds of thousands of pounds to good causes in the UK every year.

Denise Carson, Foodbank treasurer, said money would help buy computer and storage equipment.

She explained: “We have been relying heavily on volunteers’ computers and homes so the grant will be spent on a laptop and printer, because we have to print out all the vouchers and send statistics to the Tussell Trust [which helps run the foodbank].

“Office storage equipment [including a filing cabinet and paper] will help the foodbank keep going. Every organisation needs to be able to support itself and this will help us do that.

“It is tremendous the Gannett Foundation supports local charities. The foodbank touches everybody across Wyre Forest and we have been amazed by the generosity of people.“ Boys’ Brigade officer Graham Knight said his group would be able to order “vital equipment” including a kitchen marquee, a large tent, wooden benches, a camping oven and lights.

“Three times a year we go on tent-only camping trips, rather than being indoors or having use of a building for cooking,” he said. “[Our current] marquees are nearly 30 years old and starting to leak so we really need to replace these to continue the trips.

“For many of our boys, these are the highlights of their year and an important part of them learning to do more independently and for our older boys taking some responsibility for the running of the camps.

“The parents also appreciate the importance of their sons attending camps in building their confidence and independence.”

The foodbank, which is based at Baxter Church, can be contacted on 07756 490124. For more information about the Boys’ Brigade, visit bb.methos.biz

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